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Penguin Random House

Engaged employer

Avoid! - Executive Assistant Penguin Random House Employee Review

1.0
14 Sept 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Free books. Good name for cv.

Cons

Shockingly toxic culture. Unless your face fits you’ll get lots of work but no recognition. Senior management are all thick poshos - think of the BBC spoof W1 and you’re there.

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Penguin Random House Response
2y
First of all, thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on your experience - constructive feedback is essential for us to grow and improve. We’re sorry to hear your concerns about our culture. Our business is built on connecting stories and ideas with the widest possible readership which requires a business that represents the rich diversity of society. We hope that our recent D&I report, which outlines the work we’re doing to achieve ‘representation in all teams, at all levels’, helps reaffirm that this commitment remains firmly in our sightline. Diversity of leadership that reflects the backgrounds and experiences of our colleagues is really important to us, and we want everyone to feel a sense of belonging. We know we have work to do here, and we are developing a new retention and progression strategy that helps reduce barriers to progression and support colleagues to grow their careers at Penguin. We completely agree that everyone should be paid for their work, and that’s why our summer internship, work experience, and The Scheme traineeship, are all paid programmes. We’ve also offered travel support to those who require it to access Penguin and publishing. Thanks again, for sharing your feedback with us.

Explore other reviews about Penguin Random House

5.0
20 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

• Caring people. Psychological safety is emphasized by people at every level. I feel like leadership at each step of the reporting chain is very approachable and transparent. • Great work/life balance. • There is a lot of openness to trying new technologies or doing different things for such a large and established organization. There is very little "trend chasing," it's more like you're listened to. As the CEO started out as a technologist, he has a realistic view of what new tools (including, but not just, AI) can do for us. • Informal, especially for a company created by the merger of two nearly-100 year old publishing firms and was recently acquired by a nearly-200 year old company. • Company supports learning and development. • Free books! • I care greatly about the company's mission and it's clear how my work impacts the company's ability to execute on it. • Things often move slowly, which is both a pro and a con.

Cons

• Pay and insurance are very average, but I can live with that. This is a much bigger con for employees whose jobs require them to be on-site, especially in e.g. London and New York. • Said learning and development seem to have a ...deliberate pace. While this is fine and what I wanted, other tech people coming in from more "tech-y" organizations mightn't gel with it. • Things often move slowly, which is both a pro and a con.

5.0
20 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great writing, Top tier production

Cons

The male director never asked me once how I was doing or offer any advice to calm my nerves (on my first production ever with them) which lead to a burdensome recording process.

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